Clinical and demographic characterization of Jewish Crohn's disease patients in Israel

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic transmural inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Genetic background may influence the nature of disease. The Jewish population in Israel is composed of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, who differ in their genetic background. Previous studies have reported that the prevalence of CD in Sephardic Jews is lower than in Ashkenazi Jews; however, no information is available regarding disease characteristics in these patient populations. Goals: To assess the demographic and clinical characteristics of CD in Israeli Jewish patients. Study: We studied 189 CD patients who were observed in our department. Demographic and clinical data were collected and analyzed. Results: Forty-eight percent of the patients had ileum-only disease. Fistulizing disease was more frequently seen in ileocolonic than in ileal (p = 0.04) or colonic (p = 0.01) disease, whereas strictures occurred more often in ileal than in colonic disease (22% and 3%, respectively, p = 0.007). No association was found between current smoking and disease severity. Sephardic patients more frequently had extraintestinal disease than did Ashkenazi patients (35% vs. 17%, respectively, p = 0.019). Conclusion: Jewish Israeli patients show a predilection for ileum-only disease. Disease severity appears not to be influenced by smoking. These differences in disease behavior may be related to genetic factors.